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U.S. Designates Brazil’s Two Biggest Crime Factions as Terrorist Organizations

The designation activates U.S. sanctions with expanded enforcement tools, raising the prospect of diplomatic strain with Brazil before its 2026 presidential vote.

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Sede del Departamento de Estado en Washington.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva advirtió a Estados Unidos que Brasil no acepta ser tratado "como niños".
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Overview

  • The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday, May 28, that Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) are Specially Designated Global Terrorists and will be added to the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list on June 5, 2026.
  • The move imposes asset freezes, visa bans and criminal penalties and gives U.S. intelligence, law‑enforcement and military agencies broader authorities to pursue the groups and their networks.
  • Brazil’s government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has formally protested the decision as an unacceptable interference that could weaken intelligence sharing and cooperation on investigations.
  • The designation follows a request by presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro to the White House and occurs against a backdrop of reporting that members of the CV trained in Ukraine and that both gangs run wide transnational finance and drug routes.
  • Analysts say the step extends a Trump administration policy of labeling Latin American criminal groups as terrorists and could alter operations against the gangs, complicate prosecutions, and intensify political debate in Brazil ahead of October’s election.